CLEVELAND, Ohio — Former Ohio State quarterback Dwayne Haskins returned to Ohio on Thursday night for his first NFL action as a member of the Washington Redskins.
The 15th overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft made his preseason debut at FirstEnergy Stadium against the Cleveland Browns. In his first pro action, Haskins threw two interceptions in the first half, including a pick-six by Browns rookie linebacker Mack Wilson. The Browns rolled to a 30-10 victory.
He finished by completing eight of 14 passes for 117 yards.
Haskins checked into the game early in the second quarter, taking over for starter Case Keenum. He had completions of 27 and 32 yards on the drive. But the drive ended when Darvin Kidsy fumbled at the end of a 32-yard reception, and the Browns recovered.
He threw his interception to Wilson on the following drive and also threw a pick to Browns rookie cornerback Greedy Williams later in the second quarter.
“It was good,” Haskins said of his first NFL game action. “I had some good plays to learn from, and it was a good experience. . . The atmosphere of the game, it was fun. I had a good time.”
He gave detailed explanations for what he saw on both of the interceptions he threw, and said he knows that it’s important to have a short memory with you’re a quarterback.
“Stuff happens,” Haskins said. “You’ve got to get over it and play the next series. It happened.”
After the game, Redskins coach Jay Gruden was asked to assess Haskins’ performance.
“First opportunity to play, it’s not going to go perfectly,” Gruden said.
He said one interception was because of a blown protection, and the other was that Haskins threw the ball too early instead of waiting for his receiver to clear a linebacker.
“We’ll get it fixed,” Gruden said. "I think the big thing is after you struggle, take a look at the pictures, talk through what happened, and then move on to the next series. We don’t want to wallow around in the misery. We want to correct what we just saw and move on to the next series and go from there.
“He put together a good drive to start the third quarter I thought, so there were some positives to take away.”
Haskins helped lead Washington to a field goal in the second half with a 14-play, 63-yard drive to end his night.
- This post has been updated with quotes from postgame interviews.
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